The Devil Probably
1977 French film by Robert Bresson
title: "The Devil Probably" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1977-films", "1970s-french-language-films", "1977-drama-films", "films-directed-by-robert-bresson", "films-scored-by-philippe-sarde", "silver-bear-grand-jury-prize-winners", "french-drama-films", "1977-french-films"] description: "1977 French film by Robert Bresson" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil_Probably" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary 1977 French film by Robert Bresson ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox film"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | The Devil Probably |
| image | File:The Devil Probably (Le diable probablement, 1977) poster.jpg |
| caption | Theatrical release poster |
| director | Robert Bresson |
| writer | Robert Bresson |
| producer | Stéphane Tchalgadjieff |
| starring | {{Plainlist |
| music | Philippe Sarde |
| cinematography | Pasqualino De Santis |
| editing | Germaine Lamy |
| production_companies | Sunchild GMF/Michel Chanderli |
| distributor | Gaumont Distribution |
| released | |
| runtime | 95 minutes |
| country | France |
| language | French |
| :: |
| name = The Devil Probably | image = File:The Devil Probably (Le diable probablement, 1977) poster.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Robert Bresson | writer = Robert Bresson | producer = Stéphane Tchalgadjieff | starring = {{Plainlist|
- Antoine Monnier
- Tina Irissari
- Henri de Maublanc
- Laetitia Carcano
- Nicolas Deguy
- Régis Hanrion | music = Philippe Sarde | cinematography = Pasqualino De Santis | editing = Germaine Lamy | production_companies = Sunchild GMF/Michel Chanderli | distributor = Gaumont Distribution | released = | runtime = 95 minutes | country = France | language = French | budget = | gross = The Devil Probably (), also spelled The Devil, Probably, is a 1977 French drama film directed by Robert Bresson. It was entered into the 27th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear - Special Jury Prize. It was Bresson's penultimate work, preceding his 1983 film L'Argent.
Plot
The film opens with two contradictory newspaper headlines informing us of Charles's death, shot in Père Lachaise Cemetery. Beginning six months previously, the remainder of the film examines the events leading up to this event, through flashbacks and the perspectives of those around him, especially his friends Michel, Alberte and Edwige.
Charles is a disillusioned student living in Paris. He is detached from society and struggles with a growing sense of alienation. The people around him, including his girlfriend Alberte and his others friends, do not understand his inner turmoil.
Charles finds no inspiration from left-wing politics or religion, nor from the work of his environmental activist friend, Michel. He finds a similar void in sex with Alberte and with another casual acquaintance. Psychoanalysis fails to repair his nihilistic outlook. He increasingly observes the world with a sense of unease and horror, and expresses a profound dissatisfaction with it.
He becomes more focused on the idea of suicide. During a discussion on a bus, a passenger asks "Who made this mockery of humanity? Who’s leading us by the nose?", and another replies "The devil probably".
Finally, Charles makes an arrangement with his drug-addicted friend Valentin to end his life using a handgun.
Cast
- Antoine Monnier - Charles
- Tina Irissari - Alberte
- Henri de Maublanc - Michel
- Laetitia Carcano - Edwige
- Nicolas Deguy - Valentin
- Régis Hanrion - Dr. Mime
- Geoffroy Gaussen - bookseller
- Roger Honorat - police officer
Production
::quote
::
The film is only Bresson's second original script after Au hasard Balthazar.
The commission which allocated advance funding to directors did not do so for Bresson, and the personal intervention of the Culture Minister, , was required for it to be financed.
The film was shot in Paris during the 1976 heatwave.
Reception
Upon release, the film was banned in France for those aged under eighteen because of its suicidal themes.
It shared the Silver Bear - Special Jury Prize with two minor films at the 27th Berlin International Film Festival, but only after German film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder and British film critic Derek Malcolm had threatened to leave the jury if their support for it for the top prize were not made public. Fassbinder said: ::quote Robert Bresson's *Le Diable Probablement * ... is the most shattering film I've seen in this Berlin Festival. I think it's a major film [...]. [I]n the futureand this world will probably last for another few thousand yearsthis film will be more important than all the rubbish which is now considered important but which never really goes deep enough[.] The questions Bresson asks will never be unimportant. ::
Fassbinder would go on to refer to the film in his own 1979 film Die Dritte Generation, where a character remarks that it is "a sad movie", but "so long as the movies are sad, our lives can stay funny".
The critic J. Hoberman described the film with one sentence: "A Dostoyevskian story of a tormented soul, presented in the stylized manner of a medieval illumination." Richard Hell described the film as "by far the most punk movie ever."
The film was well-received among critics, currently holding a 85% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 20 reviews.
References
References
- "Berlinale 1977: Prize Winners". Berlinale.de.
- (19 June 2022). "The Devil, Probably". British Film Institute.
- "The Devil, Probably". Cornell University.
- (2000). "Robert Bresson". Manchester University Press.
- "The Devil, Probably".
- (30 June 1999). "Robert Bresson (Cinematheque Ontario Monographs, No. 2)". Cinematheque Ontario.
- Thomsen, Christian Braad. (1980). "Fassbinder". British Film Institute.
- (14 September 1979). "Kino: Rainer Werner Fassbinders "Die dritte Generation"". Die Zeit.
- Hoberman, J.. "A Masterpiece, Most Likely: Hoberman on Robert Bresson's "The Devil, Probably" {{!}} Artinfo". Artinfo.
- (March 30, 2012). "BAMcinematek presents a week-long run of Bresson's The Devil, Probably in a new 35mm print".
- "The Devil, Probably".
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